Friday, 23 September 2011

Women's StatusAl Ahzab (The Confederates) - Chapter 33: Verse 35"For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward."

Initially, Quranic verses used only the masculine plural form to refer to the women and men in the new faith community. For years, "believers" (al-muminun), and "the truthful" (as-sadiqun), either referred specifically to men or to the men and women who constituted the Prophet's first Companions. Once, a woman (or several, according to the different traditions) asked the Prophet why women were not explicitly mentioned in the revealed message. The Book - which, while revealing a universal message, also included responses to the questions asked by the Men around the Prophet - was later to mention women and men distinctively, as in the above verse.

This evolution of the message is part of divine teaching in the process of revelation carried out over twenty-three years: the faithful are thus led to evolve in their understanding of things and critically reconsider some of their cultural or social practices. The status of women, who were sometimes killed at birth because of the shame they might bring, was to be reformed in stages, as verses were revealed.

It thus appeared more and more clearly that the Quran's message and the Prophet's attitude were apt to free women from the cultural shackles of Arab tribes and clans and from the practices of the time. The Creator addresses women as being on an equal footing with men, their status as beings and believers is the same as men's, and the requirements of worship are absolutely identical. The Medina period helped sort out the religious principles from Meccan Arab customs and bring about changes in women's status: the reform movement was thus started and accompanied by the Revelations, by social experiments, and, of course, by the Prophet's attitude as the example the Companions were to follow.

The different verses were therefore to be read and interpreted in the light of that movement, and early readings and interpretations of revealed texts were to be viewed in the ideal mirror of the Prophet's behaviour. The inner reform movement was perceived, understood, and commented on from the first centuries, during which the text sciences was established, but it remains true that early readers were mainly men who read the Revelation through the double prism of their gender and of the culture in which they necessarily lived.

The Companions and early ulama could not but read the text in the light of their own situation, viewpoint, and context. While the Book spoke about women, their being and their heart, fuqaha set out to determine duties and their rights according to the various functions society imparted them. Women were therefore "daughters," "sisters," "wives," or "mothers"; the legal and religious discourse about women was built on those categories. It is indeed difficult for a man, and what is more a jurist, to approach the issue of women primarily as beings in their integrity and autonomy: whatever the internal process initiated by the different revelations or historical experiences, such an approach inevitably orients and restricts the reading and interpretation of texts. Their concern was to impart a function to women, to draw up a list of rights and duties. A closer reading of the texts, however, shows that the purpose of the inner evolution just mentioned, revisiting women's status step by step, is in fact to bring the believing conscience to perceive women through their being, beyond their different social functions. This inductive movement toward the primacy of being naturally involves an effect on the issue of social status; this, however, implies allowing full scope to the interpretation process and accepting all its consequences.

Monday, 19 September 2011

Dr Akram Nadwi is soon to
publish his 40-volume collection on Muslim women scholars. In 2007,
Mehrunisha Suleman and Afaaf Rajbee analysed the lost legacy of women
scholars and its impact on today's world in emel's feature on The Lost
Female Scholars of Islam.

At
the time Eileen Collins became the first woman to command the space
shuttle, some Muslims were debating the right of women to drive a car on
the road. This disparity in the level of public discourse on the rights
of women and role of women confront Muslim societies. New findings by a
scholar at Oxford on the historical role of women may help Muslims
forge a new perspective but still remain true to the Prophetic
traditions. Mehrunisha Suleman and Afaaf Rajbee report.

If you call a man a thief long enough, he will start to
think he really is a thief. Likewise, if you call a child stupid all the
time, she will grow up thinking s/he really is stupid. This swindle of
self-perception describes the deep seated anxiety surrounding women in
Islam. The sustained media and academic portrayal of Islam has been that
of a sexist, patriarchal religion that subjugates women through
implicit assumptions of their inferiority. The corrective efforts to
this perceived sexism have been shaped by conservatism and radicalism
alike. Muslim feminists throw women forward as the bastion of a new,
gender-less Islam, free from the shackles of male scholarship and
propelling them forth to become imams and state leaders. At the same
time, one can find countless imams from the Asian subcontinent who will
readily declare women’s rights as a pernicious Western import, against
which the best defence is to keep them inside the home and away from
places of work and education. In this way, there may be little that
separates misogynistic mullahs from progressive feminists: both are
reactions to a crisis of confidence in their own faith. The social and
political upheavals of the past c e n t u r y h a v e shaken the ummah
to the very core - to the point that commentators cannot seem to defend
the most basic social relationship between men and women. Amidst these
celebrations and condemnations of Islam’s supposed misogynism, Shaykh
Mohammad Akram Nadwi’s study of Al Muhaddithat: the women scholars of
hadith is a timely reminder that the gender issue need not be a problem
in Islam. The portrayal in the media of Islam as the cause of the
subordination of women was a key inspiration for the Shaykh to embark on
his decade long study. Currently a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, he found himself confronted with disagreements
amongst Muslims about their own history. There was a gaping need to seek
out the real historical record on women’s place in the Islamic
tradition.

There are widely cited arguments that the male gender
bias in Islamic scholarship has affected the interpretations of the
Qur’an and hadith. But the historical records show examples of fatwas
issued by male jurists that were materially adverse to men and in favour
of women. Furthermore, many of the testaments of excellent female
scholarships have been recounted by their male students. Imam Dhahabi
noted that amongst female narrators of hadith, there were none found to
be fabricators. Women’s scholarly integrity and independence were
unimpeachable. Naturally, any sexist male would have a problem admitting
to these facts. Since women today participate so little in the teaching
of Hadith and the issuing of fatwas, there is a wide misconception that
historically they have never played this role. As Shaykh Akram
describes, “when I started, I thought there may be thirty to forty
women,” but as the study progressed, the accounts of female scholars
kept growing and growing, until eventually there were no less than 8,000
biographical accounts to be found. Such vast numbers truly testify to
the huge role that women have played in the preservation and development
of Islamic learning since the time of the blessed Prophet Muhammad. The
women encountered by Shaykh Akram were far from mediocre when compared
to men, indeed, some excelled far beyond their male contemporaries.
There were exceptional women who not only actively participated in
society but also actively reformed it. Most striking was the high
calibre of their intellectual achievements and the respect that they
received for this.

Apart from well-known figures, including Ayesha Siddiqa, the
daughter of Abu Bakr, the grandeur of forgotten scholars is rekindled in
the work. Fatima Al Batayahiyyah, an 8th century scholar taught the
celebrated work of Sahih al Bukhari in Damascus. She was known as one of
the greatest scholars of that period, demonstrated especially during
the Hajj when leading male scholars of the day flocked from afar to hear
her speak in person. A beautiful picture is painted of her in an Islam
that has been long forgotten – a distinguished, elderly woman teaching
her students for days on end in the Prophet’s mosque itself. Whenever
she tired, she would rest her head on the Prophet’s grave and continue
to teach her students as the hours wore on. A n y w o m a n visiting the
Prophet’s mosque now will know the frustration of not even being able
to see the blessed Prophet’s grave, let alone rest their head on its
side wall.

Another, Zainab bint Kamal, taught more than 400 books of
Hadith in the 12th century. Her “camel loads” of texts attracted camel
loads of students. She was a natural teacher, exhibiting exceptional
patience which won the hearts of those she taught. With such a towering
intellectual reputation, her gender was no obstacle to her teaching in
some of the most prestigious academic institutes in Damascus.

Then there was Fatimah bint Muhammad al Samarqandi, a jurist
who advised her more famous husband on how to issue his fatwas. And Umm
al-Darda, who as a young woman, used to sit with male scholars in the
mosque. “I’ve tried to worship Allah in every way,” she wrote, “but I’ve
never found a better one than sitting around debating with other
scholars.” She became a teacher of hadith and fiqh and lectured in the
men’s section. One of her students was the caliph of Damascus. The sheer
hard work and dedication to Islam by these women is unfathomable by
standards today – but they also had some biological advantages against
men. Female muhaddi that were often sought after by students to learn
hadith because of their longer lifespan - which shortened the links in
the chains of narration. Although Shaykh Akram’s study focuses on the
narrators of Hadith, he found that women s c h o l a r s had also
contributed significantly in teaching “theology, logic, philosophy,
calligraphy and many of the crafts that we recognise and admire as
Islamic.”

The presence of female teachers alone does not do justice to
the importance of women in Islamic history. The Qur’an, as originally
recorded on parchments and animal bones, was entrusted to Hafsah,
daughter of Umar. It was with the help of these preserved records that
Caliph Uthman disseminated six standardised versions of the Qur’an to
the major political and cultural centres in the Islamic realm. He
ordered all non-standardised editions to be burned, an act that
indicates the immense trust in Hafsah’s competence and character. The
validity of women’s teachings was never doubted by the Companions on
account of their gender, or by any respected scholar since.

Considering Islam’s teachings on the fundamental equality of
men and women, Shaykh Akram’s work should really be no surprise. The
Prophet taught that there is no difference in worth between believers on
account of their gender. Both have the same rights and duties to learn
and teach – from memorising and transmitting the words of the Qur’an and
Hadith to the interpretation of these sources and giving counsel to
fellow Muslims through fatwas (legal opinions). Women have the same duty
as men to encourage the good and restrain the evil. It follows quite
logically from this that if they cannot become scholars and be capable
of understanding, interpreting and teaching, they cannot fulfil their
duty as Muslims. If the subjugation of women is not the result of
Islamic teachings, then why are there such gross violations of women’s
rights in the Muslim world today? Relegating the Muslim woman only to
the role of a mother and housewife is a relatively modern phenomenon
(didn’t Ayesha lead an army and didn’t Umm Salama avert a crisis at
Hudaybiyyah?). The definitive cause to this complex and multi-faceted
problem is heavily debated, but a few contributing factors are worth
tracing here. The hegemony of Western civilisation in the modern world
brings with it an inevitability that the Muslim world will fall victim
to its own weaknesses. Women have always had a problematic position in
the Judeo-Christian tradition, the most obvious example being the
Biblical account of Adam and Eve’s fall from the Garden. The source of
mankind’s original sin is placed squarely on Eve, who represents the
weaker sex in the parable (the pains of childbirth have traditionally
been regarded as atonement for this original sin in the Christian
faith).

Theological precedents aside, the equality of men and women has
come late in the day to Western Europe, with the status of women as
“human” being debated in the 16th century and equal legal rights to men
only being established by the 19th and 20th centuries. Misogynism was
internationalised, as Aisha Bewley, writer and translator of the Qur’an
describes, by western colonial authorities who excluded women from
teaching in mosques and assuming political roles in the Muslim societies
they colonised. “The lens through which the West viewed Muslim women
was already a distorted one – and o n c e imposed or implanted among the
Muslims, this viewpoint gradually became an established norm.” As the
technologically and scientifically superior western culture impressed
Muslim intellectuals, they grew more open to the values that these
cultures brought with them.

Finger-pointing at “the West” is a comfortable answer for
everyone, but it is all the more important to realise that the fate of
the Muslim woman cannot be divorced from the fate of the Muslim
community as a whole. The retraction of women from the public sphere is
also the result of fear. “Islam’s current cultural insecurity has been
bad for both its scholarship and its women,” says Shaykh Akram. “Our
traditions have grown weak, and w h e n people are weak, they grow
cautious. When they are cautious, they don’t give their women freedoms.”
Man’s desire to protect women has gone into overdrive, to the point
that it has actually undermined the quality of Muslim communities. When
the few women that do break free begin to propagate extreme brands of
feminism, the result is a vicious circle of suspicion, fear and
oppression.
The revelation of the 8,000 strong history of Muslim women scholars will
prompt a variety of reactions from various parties. Misogynists are
likely to deny it and attempt to undermine its authenticity. Feminists
will be pleased that someone has done the hard work for them. Yet the
best lesson is most likely to be found in the motivation behind its
writing. Shaykh Akram seeks to bring people back to traditional Islam
with the purpose of demonstrating that Islam is not misogynistic and nor
were early male scholars biased against women. Accusations that his
study encourages free-mixing and the relaxing of modesty are unfounded.
It is clear in the introduction to the 40 volumes that the hijab is also
the sunnah of the Prophet and “enables women to be present and visible
in the public space in a way that is safe and dignified.” Here Shaykh
Akram’s status as a learned alim from a prestigious institution (Nadwat
al Ulama in Lucknow, India) who has studied Islam in the traditional way
stands him in good stead; scholars including Shaykh Yusuf al Qaradawi
have been more than willing to acknowledge his research and findings.

The irony of our forgotten women scholars is that they spent
their lives in the pursuit of historical facts, whereas Muslims have
long forgotten the fact of their contribution. Historical criticism is a
fundamental principle in Islam. The Qur’an requires “O believers! If
any iniquitous person comes to you with a slanderous tale, verify it,
lest you hurt people unwittingly...” (49:6) Questioning the media frenzy
on Islam is not just a good idea, but a religious obligation for
Muslims to seek out the truth.

Once we have acknowledged the true historical record,
that women are not subjugated by Islam and have played a part since the
very beginning, we must also move on. Islam was not revealed as a bundle
of doctrines delineating women’s rights, human rights or animal rights.
Islam confers all of these rights and duties on us when we sincerely
accept Allah’s rights. Faith, and not bare-knuckled rationality, permits
us to create a society where everyone can have their rights upheld t h r
o u g h submission to His Word and His messengers. Centuries of
accusations of misogynism have been internalised and turned into
reality, making Muslims themselves believe that Islam is fl awed. In a
world where some women are kept locked in their homes while others are
vying to become presidents, Shaykh Akram’s research should present us
with some confidence in the justice of Islam. Not because it proves that
Islam has had many women scholars – but that there were many great
scholars that happened to be women.

Your Daughters And The Believing Women That They Should Lower Their Jilbaabs

(a sheet/cloath Cast over them, covering them from head to toe which includes the face)

Unto Them...

(Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse 59)

Ibn Abbas RA Said :

Allah Has Commanded The Believing Women That When They Come Out Of Their Houses Due To A Necessity,

They Should Cover Their Faces From Top Of Their Heads Using Their jilbaabs And Only Expose One Eye

Muhammad ibn Seereen RA Said :

‘Ubaidah As-Salmaani RA Asked Regarding The Commentary Of This Verse,

Thus He Covered His Face And Head But Exposed His Left Eye.

This Clearly Shows That The mufassireen (Commentators of the Quran)

Were
Unanimous On The Covering Of The Face Since The Time Of Nabi S.A.W And
it Was Not Just Recently Made Obligatory By The Ulamaa.

In Another Verse Allah Tala Mentions :

" Say Oh Prophet S.A.W !

To The Believing Women That They Should Lower Their Gazes

(from na mahram men)

And They Should Protect Their Private Parts (from committing indecency) And They Should Not Expose Their Beauty Except That Which is Evident (impossible to conceal like their cloaks, jilbaabs, gloves etc.)

And They Should Draw Their Veils Over Their Chest/Bosom...

(Surah An-Nur, verse 31)

It is Also Stated in The Holy Quran :

…And When You (the Sahabah RA) Ask Something From Them (Nabi SAW’s wives RA) Thus Ask Them From Behind A Screen/Curtain.

That is Purer For Your Hearts And Their Hearts…

(Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse 53)

It Was Reported in A Hadith

By Umme Salmah RA

That She And Hadhrat Maimunah RA

Were By Rasoolullah S.A.W.

She Said :

While We Were

By Nabi SAW,

Ibn Maktum RA Came To

Nabi SAW And This incident Occurred After We Were Commanded With Observing Hijaab.

Thus, Nabi SAW Said :

Make Hijaab From Him.

Therefore I said :

Oh Rasulullah !

Is He Not Blind Whereby He Cannot See Us

And Does Not Recognize Us ?

Nabi S.A.W Said :

Are The Two Of You Blind As Well ?

Are You Not Able To See Him ?

(Abu Daud, Tirmidhi)From This Hadith,

it is Noted And Can
Be Understood That A Sound Believing Woman (Not Blind) Should Observe
Pardah As Best As Possible Even in The Presence Of A Blind Person !

In The Holy Quran, This is Mentioned :

Thus, One Of Them Two

(Daughters of the old man)

Came To Him (Musa AS)

in Such A Manner That She Was Walking With Modesty…

(Surah Al-Qosas, verse 25)The Manner She Walked Was Referred To As The Manner A Free / Noble Person’s Walk,

Meaning She Came While Covering Her Face With The Sleeve Of Her Clothes.

Hadhrat Umar RA Said :

She Came While Raising Her Clothes To Cover Her Face Not Like Of Those Women Who Are Sly And Nosy.

Even During The Time Of Mosa AS

The Women Used To
Cover Their Faces From Naa Mahram Men And The Women Who Expose Their
Faces Were Regarded As Sly And Nosy Women.

Friday, 9 September 2011

Women's Rights In Islam

The Condition Of Women in Arabia Before Islam

In those days before Islam, women were treated like slaves or property. Their personal consent concerning anything related to their well-being was considered unimportant, to such a degree that they were never even treated as a party to a marriage contract.

Women were used for one purpose, and then discarded. They had no independence, could own no property and were not allowed to inherit. In times of war, women were treated as part of the prize. Simply put, their condition was unspeakable.

In addition, the birth of a daughter in a family was not an occasion for rejoicing, but was regarded with humiliation. The practice of killing female children was uncontrolled.

With the advent of Islam came the verse from the Quran condemning those who practiced female infanticide:

"And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision."(An-Nahl 16:58-59)

And as part of a description of various events on the Day of Judgment, the Quran mentions:

"And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do)shall be questioned. For what sin she was killed? (At-Takwir 81:8-9)

Outside Arabia conditions for women were no better. In India, Egypt, and all European countries in the Dark Ages, women were treated worse than slaves. They were not regarded as human beings but as sort of a sub-species between humans and animals.

Allah (SWT) Gave The Arab Women Their Rights

The rights of Muslim women were given to us by Allah (SWT), who is All-Compassionate, All-Merciful, All-Just, All-Unbiased, All-Knowing and Most Wise. These rights, which were granted to women more than 1400 years ago, and were taught by the perfect example of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), were given by the one Who created us and Who alone knows what rights are best for our female natures. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran:

"O You who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will, and you should not treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the Mahr (bridal-money given by the husband to his wife at time of marriage) you have given them, unless they commit zina. And live with them honorably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah bringsthrough it a great deal of good." (An-Nisa 4:19)

The most basic right of a woman in Islam is the knowledge and recognition that she never has to ask or demand or fight for her rights which are guaranteed to her by Allah (SWT) Himself.

Rights That Islam Gives to Women

Human Rights

Islam considers a woman to be equal to a man as a human being and as his partner in this life. Women have been created with a soul of the same nature as man’s. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran:

"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever and All-Watcher over you." (Al-Nisa 4:1)

And in the words of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW),

"Assuredly, women are the twin halves of men." (Sahih reported by Abu-Dawud (RA)

Islam does not blame Eve alone for the First Sin. The Quran makes it very clear that both Adam and Eve were tempted, that they both sinned and were both forgiven after their repentance. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran:

"Then Satan whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts (before); he said: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals." And he (Satan) swore by Allah to them both (saying): "Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both." So he mislead them with deception. Then when they tasted of the tree, that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to stick together the leaves of Paradise over themselves (in order to cover their shame). And their Lord called out to them (saying): "Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you?" They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." (Allah) said: "Get down, one of you an enemy to the other (i.e. Adam, Eve, and Satan, etc.). On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and an enjoyment, - for a time." He said: "Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (i.e. resurrected)."(Al-A’raf 7:20-25)

In Islamic law a woman is an independent, unique individual in her own right. She has the same responsibilities towards herself, towards Allah (SWT) and towards other human beings as the male, and will be punished or rewarded in the Hereafter without discrimination towards her female gender.

Civil Rights

There is no compulsion in religion according to the Quran:

"There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut [anything worshipped other then the Real God (Allah)] and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower."(Al-Baqarah 2:256)

A Muslim woman is not permitted to change her family name to her husband’s name upon marriage. She is always known by her father’s name, as a mark of her own identity. In choosing a marriage partner, her consent to accept or reject any prospective suitor for marriage must be respected. A Muslim woman has the right to seek divorce, if necessary within the laws of Islam.

A woman named Khansa Bint Khidam once came to the Prophet (SAW) and complained:"My father has forced me to marry my cousin in order to raise his own status (in the eyes of the people)." The Prophet told her that she was free to dissolve this marriage and choose whomever she wished to marry. She replied, "I accept my father's choice, but my aim was to let the women know that fathers have no right to interfere in the marriage." (Ahmad, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)

Muslim Women Have the Right to Go Outside of Her Home

Muslim women are not forbidden from going out in the community, working, or visiting relatives and female friends, if there is no objection from their guardian/husband and they are covered and behave and speak according to Islamic guidelines and, if necessary, escorted by their Mahram. However, a woman’s home should be the main base that she works from. Allah (SWT) instructed the wife’s of the Prophet (SAW):

"O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft in speech, lest he is whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy or evil desire for adultery, etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honorable manner. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and offer prayers perfectly (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah wishes only to remove Ar-Rijs (evil deeds and sins, etc.) from you, O members of the family [of the Prophet (SAW)], and to purify you with a thorough purification." (Al-Ahzab 33:32-33)

A Woman in Islam Has the Right to Get an Education

Muslim here meaning male and female Muslims, as women are the twin halves of men. The Prophet (SAW) also said:

"Whoever follows a way to seek knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a way to paradise." (Declared Authentic By Shaikh Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaani)

A woman in Islam has the right to knowledge and education. Allah (SWT) encourages women to read and keep up the learning process. He also bestows His mercy upon all who seek knowledge, and gives them high status:

"Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah’s Signs and Verses). (Az-Zumar 39:9)

"O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, (spread out and) make room. Allah will give you (ample) room (from His Mercy). And when you are told to rise up (for prayers, Jihad, or for any other good deed), rise up. Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do. (Al-Mujadilah 58:11)

This is referring to religious knowledge, in the first place, and to any other kind of knowledge, in the second place, where one has the intention of benefiting herself, her family and the Islamic society. Additionally, a husband should not forbid his wife from going out of the house to seek basic religious knowledge, unless he is teaching her at home. The Quran advises mankind to pray:

"Then High above all be Allah, the True King. And be not in haste [O Muhammad (SAW)] with the Quran before its revelation is completed to you, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (Ta-Ha 20:114)

The Right to Go to the Mosque

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:

"If someone’s wife asks his permission to go to the mosque, he should not deny it to her."

Women should be covered Islamically, according to the Muslim woman's dress requirements .

At the same time, a woman’s prayer in her home is better, from the standpoint of her household duties and duties as a mother. Also it is better in the sense that it prevents unnecessary mixing with men. The Prophet (SAW) also stated on another occasion:

"But their homes are better for them." (Reported by Abu Dawud and Ahmed)

Islam Gives Men and Women Equal Rights

In reality, and in Islam, the rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to those of man, but they are not necessarily identical with them. Equality and sameness are two very different things. I think you’ll agree that, for one thing, women and men are physically very different from one another, although they are equal to each other in other important ways.

In the West, women may be doing the same job that men do, but their wages are often less. The rights of Western women in modern times were not created voluntarily, or out of kindness to the female. The modern Western woman reached her present position by force, and not through natural processes or mutual consent of Divine teachings. She had to force her way, and various circumstances aided her. Shortage of manpower during wars, pressure of economic needs and requirement of industry forced women to leave their homes to work, struggling for their livelihood, to appear equal to men. Whether all women are sincerely pleased with these circumstances, and whether they are happy and satisfied with the results, is a different matter. But the fact remains that whatever rights modern Western women have, they fall short of those of her Muslim counterpart! Islam has given woman what duties her female nature. It gives her full security and protects her against becoming what Western modern women themselves complain against: a "mere amusing object."

The Right to Seek Employment

If you take a look at many societies today, a woman is only valued and considered important if she performs the functions of a man, (while at the same time displaying her feminine attractions to the public). While these women may carry the immense responsibility of bearing and rearing children, you have to admit that they may still be at par with men in nearly every area of life. The result is the present-day confusion concerning sex role differentiation, resulting in very large numbers of divorces and emotionally distraught children.

In Islam, however, the value and importance of women in society and the true measure of their success as human beings, is measured with completely different criteria: their fear of Allah (SWT) and obedience to Him, and fulfillment of the duties He has entrusted them with, particularly that of bearing, rearing and teaching children.

Nevertheless, Islam is a practical religion, and responds to human needs and life situations. Many women need, or wish, to work for various reasons. For example, they may possess a needed skill, such as a teacher or a doctor.

While Islam does not prohibit women working outside the home, it does stipulate that the following restrictions be followed to safeguard the dignity and honor of women and the purity and stability of the Islamic society, (the conduct of women, after all, is the "backbone" of any society):

1. Outside employment should not come before, or seriously interfere with her responsibilities as wife and mother.

2. Her work should not be a source of friction within the family, and the husband’s consent is required in order to eliminate later disagreements. If she is not married, she must have her guardian’s consent.

3. Her appearance, manner and tone of speech and overall behavior should follow Islamic guidelines. These include: restraining her glances in relation to any men near the work place, wearing correct Islamic dress, avoiding men, not walking in a provocative manner, and not using make-up or perfume in public.

4. Her job should not be one which causes moral corruption in society, or involve any prohibited trade or activity, affect her own religion, morals, dignity and good behavior, or subject her to temptations.

5. Her job should not be one which is mixing and associating with men.

6. A woman should try to seek employment in positions which require a woman’s special skills, or which relate to the needs of women and children, such as teaching, nursing other women, midwifery, medicine with specialization’s like pediatric or obstetrics-gynecology.

A Muslim Woman is Required to Dress a Certain Way When She Goes Out in Public

For a Muslim woman, her modest dress is an expression of a universal sisterhood. An Islamic dress also liberates the Muslim woman, and she is then automatically respected for her mind instead of her body. Simply put, she retains her dignity! It is like saying: I am a respectful woman. I am not for every man to look at, touch, or speak to. I am protected, exactly like a precious white pearl which, if touched by everyone, will become black and dirty.

A woman’s modest dress protects society from adultery and other forms of illegal relations that lead to the break up of families and corruption of society.

THE RIGHT OF A MUSLIM WOMAN IS TO BE RESPECTED FOR HER MIND AND FOR BEING HER OWN PERSON.